The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja has declared Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of All Progressive Congress (APC), the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for Lagos State, Dr Abdulazeez Adediran (a.k.a. Jandor),
Justice Mikhail Abdullahi, who delivered the judgment, held that the tribunal had no power to interfere in the issue of nomination, sponsorship, and improper nomination in the petition filed by Jandor
Justice Abdullahi said that were pre-election matters and internal affairs of the party concerned, according to the Electoral Act, section 131,(1).
According to him, only party members could challenge the party for non-compliance with the Electoral Act on the issue of nomination as the petitioner had no modus operandi to challenge since they are not party members.
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He said that the governorship ticket of Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, was one ticket and inseparable.
The tribunal held that the petition filed by Jandor was “dead on arrival’ as the evidence adduced before the tribunal showed that the petition lacked merit.
Justice Abdullahi said that the second respondent has the highest of votes, this petition is dead on arrival.
“Given the evidence adduced before this tribunal, the grounds on which the petitioner is seeking the disqualification of the second and third respondents lack merit.
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“Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat are eminently eligible to contest under section 177 of the constitution as they are members of a political party and educated up to school certificate level.
“Given the evidence before the tribunal, I have found Gov. Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy Hamzat, duly elected and I therefore declare them winner of the March 18 governorship poll,”
Other members of the tribunal, Justice Arum Ashom and Justice Igho Braimoh concord with the judgment delivered by Abdullahi
The tribunal took a few minutes break to sit again for the judgment of the second petition filed by Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, (LP)
